Update: Engadget reports that Tinder Select is now live for ‘selected’ users, and does indeed cost $500/month or $6k/year.
The companies behind popular dating apps like Tinder, Grindr, Match, and Bumble are planning to offer premium tiers, with subscription costs as high as $500 per month …
A number of dating apps appear to have reached saturation point in terms of the number of paid users, so are now turning to higher subscription costs as a way to continue to grow revenue.
Bloomberg reports that weekly subscriptions have proven one way to persuade more people to try a paid tier.
Match Group Inc. has seen “significant demand” for its new weekly subscriptions — the number of UK-based Gen Z women switching to a paid Tinder plan jumped 73% since the April launch, and the boost to Hinge was similar.
One downside of these, however, is that weekly subscriber income is less stable: Users may decide to try it for a week or two, and then cancel.
Many companies are now planning on trying more expensive premium tiers, with Match due to launch a $500/month subscription tier in the next few months.
Match is also exploring a $500-a-month version, due to launch in the fall. Bumble Inc., which already has a weekly offering, will start testing a premium tier later this year, alongside a cheaper option specifically aimed at Gen Z. Grindr Inc. said its new weekly option is also driving monetization, and it’s looking at cheaper options and a premium tier.
The premium offerings are targeted at people who want a more curated, match-making style experience. “They feel that the relative value of $40 or $50 a month for their special someone feels exceptionally low,” Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said on a recent earnings call.
However, Bumble and Grindr are also planning to offer new tiers with cheaper pricing than any of their current subscriptions.
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